Creating a safe space for talking to teens is crucial to helping them navigate a number of challenges in their life. If you have read the first tip and some of the topics that a teenager may open up about, this one may not seem as obvious, yet it is one of the most important of all. Tip No. 3: Say thank you If you're creating a safe space for talking to teens, why should 'you' say Thank you? If a teenager or young adults has finally put their trust in you, and opened up about anything that truly troubles them, whether you're a parent, teacher or manager, you should say thank you for them ..read more

I am going to share three tips in depth over the next three weeks about creating safe space for talking to teens, helping you to support them in opening up to conversation when they're closed in. This creates a better bond between parent and teenager, as well as navigating many of the pitfalls listed below. It's also a great first step to avoiding the stigma of reaching mental health status by dealing with challenges as they occur. Why is creating safe space important? Just as we all need safe space around us physically, to move freely without tripping over the clutter, or other people's feet ..read more

In the previous post about creating safe space for talking to teens, I talked about staying calm. This is important to remember when leading into tip number two for creating safe space for talking to teenagers. Staying calm will help you to take the time to get this next bit right. Tip No. 2 is: No Judgement It is easy to hear something someone says and make judgement. We all do it as part of daily conversation, watching the news, talking about that guy at work and so on. In private conversation it's a given thing that everyone does it but when talking to a teenager about their deepest worrie ..read more

Teenage Depression has been recognized over thousands of years as being different to the depression experienced at other times of life. While many just call it a phase, or think its an excuse to get out of doing their homework, science has come a long way with the addition of brain scans, blood tests, improved therapies, and education, to help them through this phase. All the same, it still happens. Depression associated with the teenage-brain is proven to be a change in the brain's activities. On a scan, instead of showing an array of colours in reaction to stimuli, the results show mainly b ..read more

Teenage depression treatment can happen closer to home than you may think. My son had depression and suicidal tendencies for years, along with a diagnosis of Asperger's, and by his teens was truly struggling to connect with life, purpose, himself, or his family. And then I found a way to help him change all that for the better - from home. It was impossible to get support in school, and he often declined help from therapists, after months of trying to get appointments. As a parent, that is extremely frustrating, and puts us as parents, at risk of stress, overwhelm and depression along with ou ..read more

From darkness to colour, how my book was inspired. As I sat on my sofa in March 2022, it was a bright enough day but I had already been fighting depression for over a year. It seemed like there was no way forward, so the only things I had attached any meanings to, were all in the past while the present seemed incredibly empty. I couldn't put on the radio as songs triggered me. The T.V. wouldn't distract me any more from the relentless thoughts, and nothing else seemed to lift me despite every effort to seek help. Even the medication wasn't helping at this point, actually making things worse ti ..read more

20th March 2023 With just 11 days to go to my second book launch ,Darker than Dark, there is a cocktail of emotions running through my body, from excitement, to overwhelm, anticipation and anxiety, plus frustration with my lack of broadband but the celebrations begin today regardless. Being able to recognise each emotions individually is helping me through the process, but there is no substitution for the part that is hard-graft. Over the weekend, I recorded Daily readings from the new Mindfulness book, daily quotes about mindfulness, and Tips on Mindfulness, each to be scheduled at intervals ..read more

ADDICTION is most commonly associated with alcohol, drugs, smoking and nefarious acts. Many people think that addiction leads to depression where in fact it generally begins because of an emotional struggle. Addiction is a coping strategy, and a way to find a peaceful or happy moment, that give a false sense of mindfulness and relief from what ever is troubling the user. This mindfulness moment is counterbalanced by lows, as seen in smokers who get agitated when they need another smoke, a coffee drinker needing caffeine, or an alcoholic who needs another drink. This is when reality hits them ..read more

What is Emotional Awareness? What is different between EQ, EI, and Emotional Intelligence and personal development? So many questions... here are some answers to help you. There are many terms used including emotional quotient emotional literacy emotional intelligence self awareness Personal Development and good old fashioned wisdom. They are all ways to understand emotions and to learn ways of regulating them. Emotional Awareness is the least used term, yet it is the foundation of becoming aware of your own emotions, what they feel like, how your own actions and reactions affect your own li ..read more

Emotional Awareness is about being more aware of emotions you have, not being more emotional. It's noticing which emotions you have, paying attention to the emotional and physiological feelings that come with them, and learning to halt negative emotions, turning them into more positive emotions. It's easy to identify feeling happy, sad or angry, however depression seems a little harder for many people to acknowledge, often avoiding getting help, or working through their problems. Emotional awareness helps you learn about the purpose of each emotional state and the nuances that come with them ..read more